


after the storm

by the_hero_she_deserves



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Best Friends, Canon Compliant, Canon Gay Character, Canon Gay Relationship, Canon LGBTQ Character, Canon Lesbian Character, Canon Lesbian Relationship, Catharsis, Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Comfort, Confessions, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Developing Relationship, Emotional, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotions, F/F, Feelings, Feelings Realization, Friendship/Love, Light Angst, Love, Love Confessions, Lovely, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Adora (She-Ra), POV First Person, Post-War, Questions, Rain, Sad, Soft Catra (She-Ra), Storms, Sweet, Tears, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:08:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28684575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_hero_she_deserves/pseuds/the_hero_she_deserves
Summary: It's raining outside.Things are so different now. The war's ended but there are still unanswered questions.Outside, however, is not the only place rain can fall.Adora and Catra have a much needed talk, hoping to resolve those questions, and quell the storm in their hearts.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Kudos: 48





	after the storm

It’s raining outside. 

There is pit patter against the windows. It’s been coming down for hours. It’s a peaceful little rainstorm. 

It’s quiet here in Bright Moon. No loud crashes of thunder or frightening bolts of lightning; it’s all serene. Even the heavy rainfall is calm as it hits against the windows and siding of the castle.  In my room, there’s no light on. It’s dark. It’s dark outside too. The evening is just setting into night. You can hardly see the stars above the clouds, if you were to peer outside; if you look hard enough you might be able to find some. 

Things were so different now. 

Horde Prime’s gone and Etheria’s found peace, and… 

I have Catra back. 

All things I thought might never happen.  Well, I was sure I’d find some way to stop Prime, but that didn’t mean that Etheria would return to peace. 

I wasn’t sure of many things. 

But, here Catra is in my arms, cuddled up to me on this rainy, overcast night. She snuggles closer to me, tighter as if it’s cold, but the temperature in the room is actually quite comfortable.  She has this expression on her face as if she’s in pain, but I know it’s probably just that she feels restless. Her brow furrows, and her eyes are closed shut, and if there had been thunder, she probably would have been shivering; Catra never did like storms. 

I wonder if that’s what’s going on in her mind right now. I wonder if the rainfall has her on edge.  Or maybe it’s less of that and more that here she is, in a place she’d never be, with a person she thought she’d never get to be with again, cuddled up in bed, allowing herself to be held. 

Catra, vulnerable? You’d have more a chance of seeing Angella return from beyond than to hear those words used in a sentence together.  And yet, I wonder if maybe that’s what’s going through her mind. 

That she doesn’t like to rely on other people. That she doesn’t like to seem - feel - weak. 

I’m sure that’s a part of it. 

My hand comes up to the back of her head, and gently rests there. It’s only after another beat that my fingers start to silently stroke through her hair.  Her eyes open at this. She must not have been expecting it. 

It’s then that I feel that familiar feeling I remember from all those years ago, back in the Horde. She curls her tail around my ankle, almost like she would be holding my hand. I can’t help but give the faintest smile, and shuffle her closer to me. 

Catra’s been quiet this whole time. I can’t imagine she has much to say. After all, this is really the first moment we have had together like this since we won the war. 

I ’m quiet too.  I don’t really have anything on my mind right now. For once, I don’t have a million thoughts running through my brain, all at the same speed, might I add. 

For once, I’m just laying here, relaxed, with someone that I… 

Someone that I… 

“Adora…?” She finally breaks the silence and says my name softly. 

I can’t complete the one thought that has made its way into my mind, because my attention is right on Catra as she speaks. 

“Yeah?” I answer back, softly. 

“….No, it’s nothing. Never mind.” She says, after a beat. 

What was it she was going to say? My eyes stare at her in confusion, and I gently tilt my head back so that I may look at her face. Her eyes take a few moments in moving to meet with mine, but once they do, she utters… 

“What?” A little more abruptly than I expected. 

“Nothing.” I say right away. “It’s just…” I pause. “I thought you were going to say something…” I trail. 

“Well, yeah.” She admits. “But I… look, I just don’t wanna talk about it. Okay?” Catra’s eyes fleet away from mine again, and she looks at something else. I’m not sure what she could be looking at in this dark room, but then again, she always did have better eyesight than me - when it came to the dark, anyway. 

I suppose that’s because she’s a cat. 

“Okay.” I answer simply. 

If Catra really doesn’t want to talk about it, then we don’t have to. We can just stay here together, cuddled up, surviving the storm. 

Ha, surviving the storm.  Isn’t that what we were doing for most of our lives? 

More thoughts enter my head - I think, to fill the silence. 

I begin thinking about growing up in the Horde and dealing with Shadow Weaver. I think about becoming She Ra and the rift that created between Catra and me. I think about Glimmer and Bow… and how joining the Rebellion was never a hard choice for me to make, despite it being hard for someone like Catra.  I think about the way things are - the way they turn out. I wonder if there’s some rhyme or reason for that. I wonder if the universe has a plan and knows exactly what it’s doing. Or maybe it doesn’t and it just… throws random crap at you.  I wonder why Catra and I… we had to grow up, surviving a storm. I wonder why… those were our cards we were dealt. I wonder why, and if there’s a reason, for the burdens we’ve both had to bear. 

Just as my thoughts begin to get away from me, a loud crash of thunder strikes. 

I guess the storm outside is growing more aggressive. With the loud boom, Catra huddles closer to me. Immediately, I’m snapped away from my mind, and back to the physical where I’m holding Catra, as warmly as I can, trying to soothe her.  My hand is still in her hair and brushing through it as gingerly as possible. I’m not sure even this is okay. 

Is this okay? 

I can’t help wondering that. I mean, whenever we would try to touch each other, it would always end in someone getting a new scar, or their hair pulled, or something like that. We were at battle so many times, I’m not sure if my hand on her body is exactly welcome.  Then again, if it wasn’t, Catra would have told me, right? Yeah, I think so. 

I think this is okay. But, I’ll make sure. 

She’s hiding in my chest. It’s almost cute, in a way. I know Catra would outright murder me if she ever heard me call her ‘cute’, and then proceed to pout about how she ‘isn’t cute’, so it’s a good thing that it’s only in my thoughts.  Still, it’s cute how she feels the need to curl up like this. Catra letting herself be vulnerable may not be the easiest thing for her to do, but I’m glad she’s doing it now. 

Maybe…

Maybe that’s what she was trying to tell me. 

“Hey…” I start. “Catra…?” I trail her name. 

“Yeah?” She answers back, softly. 

“I know you said you didn’t want to talk about it.” I begin. “But… are you sure everything is okay? Is this… okay?” I gesture to what we’re doing right now. 

“Yes.” She says rather quickly. “Why wouldn’t it be?” There’s the Catra attitude I know. 

“I just thought I’d ask.” I tread. “After all we’ve been through, I wasn’t sure it was me you wanted to hold you like this. Wouldn’t someone else be better? Like Scorpia? Or…Bow? Bow’s really cuddly. Or even Gl-…” I get cut off. 

“If you suggest cuddling up with Sparkles is the answer, I will literally cut your ponytail, right now.” She draws her claws and I can tell she isn’t kidding.  Then again, maybe she is, but I can’t tempt fate. 

“Well, I  _ was  _ but, uh, not anymore? Yeah, Glimmer’s not the best choice for you to seek… um… comfort from, anyway. Hah.” I stutter out nervously. 

“I appreciate it, Adora.” She starts. “But, I really do want to be here, right now. With you.” She completes as she looks at me again. There’s a faint smile that curves her lips and I actually am able to notice it, given how close I am. 

I don’t know what to say. 

“Besides, Scorpia’s got other things to do, and Bow… just no.” Catra probably doesn’t have the words to say anything bad about Bow, so she just leaves it at ‘no’. Respectable. I can tell she’s trying to be a better person. 

“That’s okay.” I say in answer. “If you really do want to be here with me, right now, then we can totally do that.” It’s almost like I’m pointing out the obvious. 

“Yeah.” She states, shortly. 

“So….” I trail, awkwardly. 

She sighs. “What is it, now?” 

“Well, if you’re not going to talk about what’s on your mind. Then… would it be alright if I talked about what’s on mine?” I ask. 

“Huh?” Catra’s puzzled. “Sure.” She says, weirdly. 

I have to admit, I do feel weird doing this. I mean, we haven’t been exactly ‘friendly’ with each other since like the war began. The war’s over now and here we are, being ‘friendly’ again, and I’m not even sure how I’m supposed to act. I know Catra’s my best friend and she will always be my best friend, but… 

…Gosh, why is it so hard to tell my best friend what I’m thinking? She’s looking at me like she wants me to say more. She knows I won’t without a prompt. 

It’s only as I feel a force take one of my hands that I snap out of my spiral of thoughts. I notice that it’s Catra’s hand that has joined with mine. My eyes meet hers and she has nothing but this soft, understanding gaze. 

“It’s alright, you know?” She prompts me, gently. “You can tell me anything.” 

I nod. 

“Right.” I agree. 

It’s another few moments before I say anything, but, eventually the words fall out. 

“Sometimes…” I begin. “… when I couldn’t sleep, I used to lie in my bed and think about the world. I don’t mean like Etheria, I mean like… the universe. I wondered if it had a purpose or reason for all the things that happen in it. For example, why did we grow up in the Horde when we easily could have both been princesses in the alliance too? Why did we become friends? Why… was I made to be She Ra? There’s lots of questions I don’t have answers for, and I’m not sure I could ever find them. But… sometimes I think about the universe and if it knows what it’s doing or not. Do you ever… get like that… Catra?” I conclude with a question. 

She takes a moment to answer. 

“You clearly have too much time on your hands.” She says first. It’s a joke; I know Catra well enough to know that, at least. Then she returns to a more serious nature. 

“But, honestly.” She begins again. “I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve… thought about it… as much as you have. But I do have my own questions too. So… I kinda get… that.” She gestures to mean everything I’ve just said. 

My eyes stay steady on her. 

“But, I think maybe… it’s best…. to just sort of let things happen and deal with it as they come. Whether or not the universe has a plan or doesn’t shouldn’t matter as much as what you do with what you got.” She states next. 

There is a valid point to that. 

“Yeah.” I answer, thoughtfully. “Look, I’m not… too great at talking about… thoughts and feelings and stuff, because I’d rather just… you know…. punch something? But… sometimes I do get these thoughts and I don’t know what to do with them. I think… the universe must have some plan, and it must know what it’s doing too. There’s a reason for everything that’s happened to us and all of it has led us to this moment. And… I guess… what I’m trying to say is…” I stumble a bit on the words. 

They are not coming to my brain fast enough. I can tell she’s listening with intent, and I don’t want to disappoint her. But, then again, in them finding their ways out of my mouth, my feelings and thoughts may have become twisted. 

Like I said, I’m not good at this stuff. 

“I missed you…?” It comes out like a question, because I’m not sure of its wording, myself. 

I’m expecting a big laugh from Catra, the one where her voice cracks and squeaks and she holds her stomach feigning that it’s really  _ that funny _ . I’m expecting her to make fun of me for having such a feeling, and how stupid it is to miss someone who’s right there, anyway. 

But, instead, I’m surprised by her curling up closer with me; there is a genuine smile on her face. I haven’t seen that in years, even before the war. She feels warm as I curl into her too, and she nudges me just a bit with her shoulder. 

“I missed you too… idiot…” She nearly whispers. 

There’s nothing but rainfall now. The silence overtakes the room, and all we can hear is the white noise from the storm in the background. Every now and again a crash of thunder strikes, but never as loudly as the first, big boom. Here we stay, cuddled up in one another’s arms. It’s almost like we were back in the Horde again. 

I t’s almost like we were kids going to bed, and having to stick together, cuddled up underneath those covers. 

Except we’re not kids anymore.  And this isn’t the Horde - it’s Bright Moon.  And Etheria is peaceful, there is no war. 

In fact, there’s nothing going on right now. There’s no battle I should be reporting to. There’s no strategy I should be thinking about. There’s no fight I have to mentally prepare for because it’s against my best friend. 

There’s nothing. 

There’s just this moment. There’s just us. 

Us, again. 

We survived the storm. 

Now, we get to see the part that comes after it. 

“Um…” I can hear a low growl from her voice. Catra seems like she wants to talk. 

I tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear. It’s so short now that I can barely even do that, but, sometimes she has these little pieces that hang over her ear.  With that motion, she knows I’m listening; I don’t need to say anything for her to continue. It’s almost like something is raining in her heart. Like the storm that has been going on for so long inside her, that she’s been surviving is finally coming to an end now. 

She’s lived with it for so long, and now… 

Well, now… she gets to see the part that comes after it.  And I’ll bet that is something she never thought she’d see. 

“Adora…” She trails my name once more. “Look… I’m not great with feelings either, and you know this…” 

I do. But I remain silent and keep listening, anyway. I’m sure what she has to say is very important, and exactly what Catra needs right now.  In fact, I can hear a small quiver in her voice as she speaks. It’s almost like she might start tearing up any minute. 

“But… I have to know why.” She starts, her voice growing in volume, just a bit. 

Why? She has to know why? 

Why… what? 

“It’s the biggest question I have.” She states next. “So please.” She pleads with me. “I have to know why… you never gave up on me. I know you’re an idiot and that’s a part of it, but I… need to hear it from you. Why you never gave up on me, even with all the horrible stuff I did to you. I need to know why you… you…” It seems she’s having trouble expressing herself too. 

There’s a beat, but I still don’t say anything. She’s finally talking to me about what’s going on in her mind. No, she’s finally showing me what’s in her heart.  She’s finally trusting me again. Or maybe, I have that wrong.  Maybe she always trusted me, and it was just a matter of getting to this moment, right now. 

“…why you… are even doing this right now.” She completes her thought, eventually. 

I can see what Catra means.  She doesn’t think she’s important enough for my attention. She still can’t believe she’s wanted. She is struggling with making sense of this. I’m sure she’s wondered if she’s even welcome here, in Bright Moon. I’m sure she’s thought that everyone secretly hates her. I’m sure she’s wanted to say ‘I’m sorry’ but the words never quite formed on her lips.  I’m sure she’s scared and feels alone, right now, even as she’s in my arms. I’m sure there’s so many things she has questions about.  And yet, this is the biggest. 

Why didn’t I give up on Catra? 

Is there some special reason other than the fact that she’s my best friend?  Is there some grand speech that I’m supposed to give about why I can never give up?  Does this have anything at all to do with She Ra, or does it have more to do with me - Adora?

But, even if I have so many thoughts, I decide I’m not going to overthink this one.  I’m going to do with the answer that I feel is the most right.

“Well, Adora?” Her voice pierces the air again, quite anxiously. “Say something.” She nearly begs me. 

I sigh. “That’s a really hard question to answer.” I put it. 

I can see tears forming at the corners of her eyes, almost like she’s scared I don’t have an answer. She’s terrified that she really doesn’t mean anything to me. She’s mortified that she was just saved because it was ‘the right thing to do’. Catra’s almost… hurt…. by the fact that there’s no special reason behind why I saved her. She has this gleam in her eyes that I can’t describe, but it tells me she’s displeased.  She didn’t want to believe that I never gave up only because it’s a part of my character. She wanted to believe something else. 

So, it’s a good thing I didn’t finish my answer yet. 

“But.” I say, after another few moments. “I think the simple answer is…” I trail. “…. it was the right thing to do.” I settle on. 

I can see the tears leak from her eyes. All at once, I begin to feel her push away from me. Her claws are digging into my clothing and she’s got this rasp in her voice as she tries to fight the sobs off. 

“The… right… thing… to do…?” She trails. “You mean… I was just another one of your charity cases as She Ra? Always have to be the hero, don’t you, Adora?” Her words attempt to cut me. 

But, I’ve survived so many of Catra’s scratches - both physical and verbal - before that this doesn’t faze me.  Again, it’s a good thing I’m not done yet. 

“It was the right thing to do… because… “ I start again, and trail off. It quiets her, and she’s intrigued once more in what I’m going to say. “… because if I left you behind to be consumed by Horde Prime, I’d never be able to live with myself. I may have needed She Ra to help me rescue you, but going back for you was all  _ my _ decision.” I state. 

I can’t help the lump that is forming in my throat. I fight back the tears that want to well because Catra needs me right now.  She stops struggling to get away from me and instead, relaxes back onto the bed. She moves one of her hands to wipe away her tears, I guess because she doesn’t wish to cry anymore. 

“Catra.” I state her name. “Would you answer one of my questions?”  I offer. 

“I’ll try.” She utters, softly. Her voice still shakes as she speaks. 

“Why is it so difficult for you to believe that…” I trail. I need to think of the right words for this. “…that you could be wanted and important and…” I’m not even sure what I’m trying to say. 

The words are not coming to me. I’m not good at talking about feelings.  But.. then a word does come to me. It rings out in my head like I should have known it all along. I can’t explain why, or what makes me say it, but… 

“… loved?” I finish, my voice shaking now too.  The tears well, and I can’t hold them back anymore. They haven’t spilled over yet, but they threaten to with each word I say. 

Her eyes widen at the last word. My question has stunned her into silence, but that’s okay. I’ll wait for the answer she wishes to give, and even if she doesn’t have one - it’s okay. Because, I know Catra well enough to know that trusting others is hard for her, and always has been. 

She’s been hurt so many times, by me too, that she’s so used to believing one thing is true. 

“I…” She starts. But, instead of answering my question, she says something else. “…I’m loved?” 

“Yeah.” My tears begin to fall. “I know it doesn’t seem that way, but… you are. By all your new friends. By Melog. And if Etheria knew what you did for it, you’d be…” I’m interrupted. 

“… Is that all?” She mutters as she looks away from me again. I can hear the disappointment dripping in her tone, mixed in with something else. 

It sounds like… pain. But, I’m not sure. 

“… No.” I take a moment to say. “Me.” I say next, softly. 

“What?” She answers. 

“You… you’re loved by your new friends, by Melog and… by… me.” I take my time in saying; and again, her face looks starstruck. 

“You?” She repeats, in question, like she doesn’t think I mean it. 

“Yeah.” My tears fall in streaks down my cheek. The water’s become just too much to hold back. 

“…I-In… what way?” Catra puts forth shyly. 

“I don’t think that matters.” I tell her. “You just have to work with what you got. And… you’ve always had me. I’ve always been in your corner. That’s why I never gave up on you, Catra. Because…” 

She completes the thought for me inside her own head. Instead, I’m interrupted again with two hands to my cheeks, thumbs wiping away the tears that just keep leaking out of me. 

“I know.” She says, gently, with more stability in her voice than in my whole body, right now. 

God, I must look like the rain outside. But it’s just us. Us, again. Adora and Catra - best friends, and we can tell anything to each other.  We can just be here with each other and have it mean nothing and everything all at once. Maybe the storm didn’t end when the war did. Maybe we’re still surviving it, some. 

But… right here, in this moment, cuddled up with my best friend whom I never thought I’d see again, is the start of getting to see what happens after it. 

“In the whole world…” She begins again, barely above a whisper. “… If anyone could have been my best friend…” She trails. “…I’m glad it’s you.” 

Her forehead presses to mine and her eyes shut. 

I can only slowly shut my eyes and do so too. Yeah, if anyone, in the whole wide world could have been my best friend… I’m glad it’s Catra.  The universe must know what it’s doing to have brought us here to this moment, to have brought us back together. 

“Yeah.” I answer her, finally. “Me too.”  A smile begins to grow on my lips despite the air in the room. Despite the heaviness in my heart, and the tension in my head, I feel lighter, somehow. 

I curl into Catra and she hides my face towards her chest. Her hands let go of my face and gently move to stroke through my hair. She removes the ponytail band keeping it in place, and then smoothes through it with such gentleness, I almost forget it’s Catra.  I keep my eyes closed. The rainfall pours outside and in listening to the noise, I begin to lose focus on all my thoughts. My mind begins to go blank as it was, and Catra is silently here with me.  She feels warm, and I know she’s holding me as warmly as she possibly can. 

I guess she hasn’t given up on me either. 

Even after all this time, after all we’ve been through. And I know why; Catra doesn’t have to say it. 

The storm, at least for tonight, is subsiding - the ones in our hearts, the ones inside us.  I hold onto her and she holds onto me. It’s definitely late; we should be getting some sleep. 

But, now that the clouds of confusion have begun to clear, and the rain of our sadness has fallen, and the crashes of thunder and heartache have ceased…

We get to see what comes after it. 

**Author's Note:**

> I have been holding onto this one for quite some time now in the MANY folders on my laptop. I don't know why I never posted it. *shrug*.  
> I have some others for Catradora that I may post eventually... depending.  
> But, yeah- 
> 
> I recently reread this work of mine and decided it should take its place among the ones I have here. Hopefully it's enjoyed as much as I enjoyed writing it - all that time ago.  
> As always, thanks for reading!


End file.
